This early example of a modern classic courthouse design by Corneil G. Curtis maintains the format of a five-bay central row of two-story pilasters flanked by projecting end bays on a tall first story. Moldings are simplified and there are no capitals on the pilasters. The tawny brick structure’s first story has rusticated courses and segmental-arched windows with large stone keystones.
Across N. Main Street at number 202, the Rusk County Tax Collector Office occupies the former U.S. Post Office (1935, Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury). It is a spare red brick Georgian scheme, with stone lintels with voussoirs as its only enrichment.
The open space (currently parking lots) at the intersection of N/S Main and E/W Main streets was the original, rather small, public square. It was occupied by the 1879 courthouse by Frederick E. Ruffini, demolished in 1928. The square, now landscaped, is surrounded by one- and two-story buildings, including the former Kangerga Building (1909, 1916), now the Rusk County Library at 104–106 E. Main. Local builders Logan and Dave Howard are credited with the Merritt Building (1883; 100 E. Main), the Opera House (1885; 122 E. Main), and, nearby, the Mays-Harris Building (1885) at 100 N. Marshall Street, each of which displays an elaborate entablature developed with brick corbeling.